A four-story building might replace two businesses destroyed by a fire last year, if owners can get some help from the city.
The owner of the former sites of Los Tapatios and London Belle is requesting a $2 million disaster relief loan through Salt Lake City’s Community Reinvestment Agency to help restore and add on to the fire-damaged buildings.
The Mexican restaurant and bar were part of a vibrant stretch of the city’s Main Street that burned in a fire last August.
Some businesses, like White Horse and Eva, have reopened. But Los Tapatios, London Belle and Whiskey Street bore the brunt of the flames during the fire, which started in the kitchen at London Belle.
An owner of Whiskey Street told Utah liquor commissioners in May that it likely will be toward the end of the year before the business reopens.
And there’s now a better idea of what could become of London Belle and Los Tapatios, thanks to materials for the city’s CRA posted ahead of a Tuesday meeting.
The meeting packet includes renderings of a four-story building constructed from a mix of metal composite, fiber-cement siding, aluminum, stone, and wood-plastic composite.
This rendering shows what could replace London Belle and Los Tapatios in downtown Salt Lake City.
Chenzo LLC owns the properties and also applied for a permit to construct a new building that, according to city records, would be for a 75-foot-tall, 18,600-square-foot building.
It isn’t clear what the use would be for all four stories. But the Tran family, which operates nearby Franklin Avenue and Pleiku, owns the company.
Based on meeting materials, they need $7.5 million for the rebuild and plan to raise money from various sources. That includes about $1.2 million in insurance payout, $2 million in private lending and the $2 million disaster relief loan the CRA will discuss Tuesday.
City staff recommended approval of the $2 million loan.

Megan Banta